Defiant Journal sub-editor Christine Harle has spoken of her relief after the attacker who left her for dead was jailed for life.

She was left with every bone in her face broken after Lee Thomas Scott, who earlier had attacked two other women, followed her into a Newcastle city centre car park and beat her unconscious.

The sustained onslaught, during which Scott leaned against a wall and his victim's car to steady himself to stamp repeatedly on her face, happened on January 11 - just three weeks after he had been released from jail.

After lengthy reconstructive surgery Christine was off work until last week, but was able to speak of her joy at putting the events behind her to resume her normal life.

Scott, (24), had served almost every day of his six-year term for attempted rape of a 15-year-old girl and an assault with intent to rob, and has been in prison almost all of his adult life.

Judge Beatrice Bolton paid tribute to Christine Harle, saying she was an "extraordinary woman", adding that she hoped she would have shown the same courage if she had been attacked.

Christine had left the Journal offices after her shift finished at about 1.30am, and made her way to Fenkle Street car park where she always parked.

Preparing to drive back to her Northumberland home, she had her car keys in her hand when Scott approached her and asked the time.

As she glanced down, he grabbed her and squeezed her throat tightly.

As she desperately tried to jab at him with the keys, Scott punched her several times, knocking her to the floor, before stamping violently on her face.

Leaving her for dead, he then stole her purse which, prosecutor Kingsley Hyland said was as an "afterthought" as his first intention was just to cause her serious harm.

Judge Bolton said it was "very lucky" she was not killed.

After blacking out for about two hours, Christine managed to crawl into the front seat of her car and call 999, but her injuries were so severe she could not make herself understood.

She said: "I can put this behind me now. Appointments at Newcastle General Hospital are two-monthly and the RVI eye department is checking for nerve damage and deciding if an operation will be needed.

"I think perhaps I expected him to snatch my bag and run. When he pushed me to the ground and started strangling me it took a little while to register that this was really happening.

"I remember thinking: 'Surely I'm not going to die like this'.

"The NHS staff, from doctors to domestics, have been marvellous and so have the police. My colleagues have been unbelievably kind and the goodwill from so many people has carried me through this.

"My aim now is to get back to the way things were before I was so rudely interrupted."

James Beck, defending, said Scott, of Ripley, Derbyshire, who admitted grievous bodily harm with intent and theft on Christine and sexual assault and common assault on two other women, had suffered from abuse as a child.